Andover cheered as Jessica Blake ’10 hit her final shot to beat her Winsor opponent on Wednesday. Going into extra points in the fifth and final game, Blake came out with the win. “It was a tough match, I was down 9-5 in the fifth game and got nervous,” said Blake. “I just told myself to focus and to take it one point at a time.” Blake’s match set the tone for the team’s play against the Winsor School, as Andover won 4-3 with many close games and matches. The first, second and seventh seed were also victorious. Captain Kim Kohn ’10 won 3-1. Kohn said, “I adjusted my game to explore her weaknesses and played intelligent squash.” “I think she did exactly what we should all be aspiring to do,” said Amanda Howland ’11, who refereed the match. Howland continued, saying, “She saw that her style of playing wasn’t working against her opponent, we discussed what changes would help, and she got back on the court and applied those changes throughout the rest of the match, never falling back into old habits. Personally, I think that is one of the hardest parts of the game and I was very impressed.” Howland easily beat her opponent as well. “I kept varying my serves. It was the only way I could have won,” she said. In addition, Julia Zorthian ’11, the seventh seed, defeated her competitor in three games. Midori Ishizuka ’11, who refereed the match, said, “Julia hit a dominating serve. She looked relaxed and natural on the court.” Though she lost her match, June Supapannachart ’11 played phenomenally. Down two games, she managed to come back to tie it 2-2. In between games Supapannachart changed her serve, which frustrated her opponent. Supapannachart said, “I noticed she was had her back to me, so I hit a body serve right at her!” However, Supapannachart’s adjustment did not prove to be enough, and the Winsor player overpowered her in the last game. On Saturday, the team played Choate. Though Andover lost 0-7, the team succeeded in winning a few individual games. Howland said, “I think Saturday’s match was a good indication of what we need to work on, most of the games could have gone any way if it weren’t for a few errors, all things that we can easily improve.” The team looks forward to playing two matches next week. On Saturday, Andover will travel to Loomis Chaffee to play Loomis and Taft, both league powerhouses. On Wednesday, the girls will play Tabor.
